Cultural Heritage and the Re-construction of Identities after Conflict (CRIC) research project9/20/2012
I'm really excited to find this on-going research project at the University of Cambridge that explores the interrelation between identity, conflict, and cultural heritage. Among the research sites is Bosnia - a series of short videos shares some of the illuminating work being done that interprets the landscapes of identity and their significance in shifting political times, particularly in the post-war period of reconstruction and reconciliation. Video: How do they do it in Bosnia?
This is an insightful 30-min. video documentary on the complexities of teaching history in post-war Bosnian secondary schools. It is so closely related to my personal experiences working with students and teachers in that country - indeed, I know some of the teachers that appear in the video as workshop participants! ...one in an excellent series of videos on education that is worth exploring: "How do they do it in...?" As I embark on my doctoral research, examining questions around educational contributions to reconciliation in societies affected by mass intergroup violence, I feel the need for a space to collect and reflect on the diverse, remarkable, and often troubling sources of information and lived experiences that will eventually form a basis of my research project. Hence, I have created this space where I intend to post items that have caught my attention, inspired new reflections and insights, and items that I basically don't want to lose, as I strive to understand something about these complex issues.
By way of introduction, I have worked closely with communities in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) on post-war recovery, reconciliation and peacebuilding since the year 2000. Initially, this work stemmed from my graduate studies in conflict resolution, and the invitation that I accepted to head a team of graduate students that would implement a pilot project of Education for Peace in BiH schools, in collaboration with BiH educators. More information on that project and its evolution over the past 12 years can be found at www.efpinternational.org. After 18 months in the field, I lead the development of curricular resources, based on the pilot experience, which would subsequently be used by schools across the country as the Education for Peace embarked on several expansion phases. The result is a co-authored series of volumes with the programme's director and senior expert, Dr. H.B. Danesh (www.hbdanesh.org). The curricular work distanced me somewhat from the daily lives of ordinary Bosnian communities as I delved into the theoretical landscape of peace education. Though I continued to return to BiH periodically for curriculum development meetings with local educators and teacher-training events. After several years away from the schools there, I recently completed a qualitative research project towards an MPhil at the University of Cambridge examining the experiences of BiH educators engaged in education for peace and reconciliation, as they navigate between theoretical constructions of these concepts, the contempory social-political environment of BiH, their personal histories of "ethnic violence", and their personal and professional identities. All this has moved me back into relationship with the human dimensions of mass violence -- a place where I have many questions about the dynamics of group violence, the prospects of personal and social rehabilitation following atrocities, the possibilities and limits of education as a vehicle for peacebuilding and reconciliation, and the interaction between social-psychological and social-political aspects of peacebuilding. My on-going concern for the challenges in Bosnia-Herzegovina is acute, though I am also increasingly exploring the experiences of other post-conflict and post-genocidal societies, such as Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Cyprus, Liberia, etc., and the possible lessons from the reconciliation models they are employing for both BiH and newer sites for reconciliation work, such as Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Iraq. As I process what I am finding, I invite dialogue with others who are interested and/or working with related issues, theories and programmes. |
AuthorIn July 2017 I completed my PhD at the University of Cambridge, exploring issues of peacebuilding through education in the wake of violent intergroup conflict. This is a space I use to share thoughts and discoveries related to my research. Archives
October 2022
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